Protest At Supreme Court Over Sacked Plateau Lawmakers

Hundreds of Nigerians under the auspices of Coalition for Truth and Justice in Africa have staged a peaceful protest at the Supreme Court, Abuja against the Appeal Court judgements sacking some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers in Plateau State from the National Assembly (NASS).

The coalition’s national president, Dr Daniel Okwa, said the political developments in the state were worrisome and called for concerns from all well-meaning Nigerians.

He said democracy was under threat, if such anomalies were allowed to stand.

In a protest letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the organisation accused some members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, of boasting of recovering some seats in the National Assembly through the courts and it turned out to be so with the Court of Appeal decision sacking some PDP lawmakers from Plateau State.

Part of the letter to the CJN reads, “The Coalition for Truth and Justice believes that the judgment of the Appeal Court in Abuja is a case of injustice, else, how could one explain a situation where lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) would boast and predict the outcome of the Court of Appeal judgment even before the pronouncement.

“This is unacceptable and indicates that the justice regime in Nigeria has been thrown to the dogs. What happened in Plateau State is an aberration of immeasurable proportion. There is a distinction between a pre-election matter and a post-election matter.

“The Supreme Court has established this fact on several occasions. It is now a wonder why the Appeal Court would act otherwise and in a despicable manner that tends to truncate our nascent democracy.

“The Coalition for Truth and Justice entirely condemns the actions of the justices of the Appeal Court that sat in Abuja. They displayed insensitivity to the electoral choices of the people. This is a worrisome trend that the Chief Justice of Nigeria must address.

“This is on the heels that the Judiciary, the world over, is regarded as the last hope of the commoner. This presupposes that it is the only place the commoner can get justice. The function of the Judiciary is not to twist the truth or fabricate facts but to interpret the law. The consequence of the interpretation of the law is justice,” he said.